However as I am watching it I am a little let down; my expectations were of an authentic, gritty crime thriller of sorts but that is not what I have watched. Sure there are dramatic and somewhat tense moments but nothing on the scale that I was looking for in a noir drama. Of particular interest to me was the performance of John Dall. As the male lead I assumed that his character “Bart” would be the primary catalyst of the criminal action – similar to his portrayal of “Brandon” of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rope” (another personal favorite of mine). But instead, he is the trigger-happy, yet reasonable in some ways foil to his more ruthless partner in crime, “Laurie” (Ms. Cummins).

I am still happy that I saw it because in spite of my original expectations being altered as a result of the viewing it is notable in my estimation for one reason – the fact that the female (femme fatale) is so dominant in the relationship and really the one that we should look out for.